August 20, 2024 • 43 mins
This month we're re-broadcasting our most popular podcasts.
This week's replay: Banish Your Muffin Top by Boosting Your Metabolism
In this popular episode, we share our secrets for banishing the muffin top (spare tire, paunch, jelly roll, etc.).
Newsflash: the key to creating a fit and trim waistline is not doing three thousand sit-ups a day. Rather, most six-packs reveal themselves when body composition is improved--i.e., you lose body fat.
What's the key to losing body fat? A healthy metabolism! Simply put, if your metabolism is puttering along, it's going to be very hard to reduce your calories enough to lose any significant amount of body fat.
Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoyed it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Hello.
It's Joe from couture coaching.
This month, the month of August,we are releasing our most
downloaded and popular podcast.
This week, we are replaying ourvery popular episode called
banish your muffin top byboosting your metabolism.
I think a lot of women wouldlove to have a six pack or want
(00:26):
to know how they can get theirtiny waist back from their
younger years.
And the answer might be a littlesurprising to you.
So check out this very popularepisode.
Thanks for listening.
(00:48):
Welcome to the boost yourmetabolism after age 30 podcast.
I'm Joe and I'm Allison.
And we're your co hosts and thefounders of couture fitness and
lifestyle coaching.
We're on a quest to help womendesign lives.
They love and bodies.
They adore.
We were fed up with the dietingindustry and decided to create
something different.
We're starting a calories uprevolution where women are
(01:10):
nourished.
Their metabolisms are healed andtheir bodies and brains start
working for them in the battleagainst weight loss.
If you feel like your metabolismis wrecked and you want to lose
weight once and for all, you arein the right place.
Welcome everyone.
This is Allison.
And today you have both me andJoe here, and we're today going
(01:32):
to continue with our how tobuild it series.
So today we're going to betalking about.
Abs and how you can banish themuffin top by boosting your
metabolism.
First, I want to very brieflytouch on some things that are
going on with us here at couturefitness.
Um, we are currently doing adrawing to help generate more
reviews for our podcast, causewe want to more people to be
(01:56):
able to find us.
So if you will give us a fivestar rating and a review, And
then email us at info atcouturefitnesscoaching.
com.
We will put you in a drawing towin 250.
Um, and we will do that drawingonce we get to 50 reviews.
So please, if we have beenhelpful to you, please give us a
(02:18):
five star rating and review.
And then next we are starting toenroll for the next quarter of
our one on one coaching program.
So if you think you would liketo work with us, with our custom
one on one coaching, where wetell you exactly what you need
to do from day one.
You know what workouts you needto do to what you should be
eating.
(02:39):
Um, check out our website.
You can get on the waitlistthere or you can schedule a
consult call with us directlyfrom there.
Or you can always email us atinfo at couture fitness
coaching.
com as well.
If you want to work with us forour next one on one coaching
session, that starts April 1st.
So before we get into the topicat hand, Joe, what is new with
you?
(03:00):
Actually, a lot is new with you.
I am just starting a kitchenrenovation.
I guess as this airs, I'll be inthe middle of my kitchen
renovation.
And then I'm going to Paris andLondon at the end of March for
spring break with my kiddos andmy husband.
Um, so I'm not insane.
I sort of timed these thingstogether, hoping that summer,
(03:20):
most of the kitchen renovationwould be completely out of.
It would be done while we weregone.
So that, you know, I, the timethat my kitchen's out of
operation, we would be not inthe house.
So, but getting there is a bitof a push.
So needless to say, um, in termsof the topic at hand, getting or
keeping a six pack will not beon my to do list for this month.
(03:42):
Um, but at the same time,there's no reason I can't keep
up with some healthy nutritionand exercise habits.
Um, and I'll just work on thesix pack.
When I get back from Europe, soit's all good and worth it.
Um, and really, this is hugeprogress for me.
Um, I am a Virgo.
So that means I'm very all ornothing.
Um, and, um, in the past, Iprobably could have used both,
(04:04):
you know, the trip, um,Dismantling my kitchen as an
excuse to get super overwhelmed.
Not really an excuse.
I would have felt overwhelmedand then just thought, Oh,
everything's in chaos.
So I have to stop working outand I'll just have to eat, take
out a bunch.
But, um, but I've, you know,matured a lot, I guess I would
say so.
Um, so I won't be, you know,trying to diet very hard or, or,
(04:27):
you know, I don't have any hugephysique goals from March, um,
that can all be, you know,happen if I wanted to when I get
back.
So that's what's going on withme.
That's exciting.
I've never been to Europe andI'm jealous, but I'm not ready
to take my family yet becausetaking a three year old to
Europe doesn't sound fun for me.
So maybe since you're down theroad.
(04:47):
Stay tuned that the 3 year oldmight be better than the
teenagers.
I'm taking a lot of complainingand why do we have to get up so
early when they're used tosleeping into like 10 or 11.
So teenagers and toddlers have alot of common traits.
I'll tell you.
I hear that they are the sameamount of work.
(05:08):
Different kind of work, butteenagers are a lot of work.
So, um, okay, well, to the topicat hand, um, I would say most of
our clients don't necessarilywant a six pack, but they do
want to lean out through theirtorsos, um, and are not loving
the muffin top or spare tirethat has appeared around their
midsection as they've, you know,hit their thirties, forties,
(05:29):
maybe fifties.
So today we're going to give youa roadmap for creating a trimmer
waistline and talk about thisfrom.
Really a strategy and scienceand physique perspective.
And at the end, give you someclear do's and don'ts.
Um, so you know how to bestinvest your time and energy.
So Alison, um, you and I haveboth competed in fitness
(05:50):
competitions and I will, youknow, I think we both agree
muffin tops and spare tires aredefinitely not what the judges
are looking for from a physiqueperspective.
Um, but I'm curious, how manyhours a week did you do Pilates
and sit ups to get ready foryour shows and how much did you
fast and how many gallons oflemon water did you drink to get
a flat tummy for your shows?
(06:11):
Okay, so lots of questions.
So first, I've never fasted andI don't want to because I get
very hangry.
Um, when I go too long withouteating.
So no fasting, lemon water.
I never intentionally drinklemon water for any other
reason.
Besides I love the taste of it.
Um, so it's nothing regular, butI do think it's healthy.
(06:33):
Um, but I never use it as somesort of trick to get lean
because.
I don't think it would help meat all in that way, um, but as
far as how much time did I spenddirectly targeting my abs for
these competitions?
Shockingly, zero minutes a weekto maybe five minutes a week.
(06:54):
I know I had at least, you know,A couple of shows when I did no
direct ab work whatsoever.
Um, and I'll talk about how myabs still certainly were, you
know, being used.
Um, but I didn't really do anysit ups or planks or, so I've
never actually done Pilates inmy life.
I have nothing against it.
I've just, you know, It's justnot something I've ever tried.
(07:15):
Um, and I have had other showswhere I did do some ab work, but
it was pretty minimal.
Um, so I'll touch on that andhow I think abs are just a
little bit different than mostof the other body parts that
we've talked about.
Okay.
Well, I think most people willfind that answer pretty shocking
that you weren't doing hours andhours of sit ups.
So I think more than any otherbody part, it's just about
(07:53):
getting lean enough, uh, foryour abs to show, um, how much
your abs actually show or howmuch definition you can see is
really just a matter factor ofhow much body fat you have over
them.
So you've got to be lean enough.
And I do think that is a littlebit different than some of the
other body parts where you canreally make them pop and look
good, you know, even, even witha little more body fat over
(08:17):
them.
Um, I think abs, you simply haveto be lean enough.
Some of this is genetic, I willsay.
Some people can be not as leanand have their abs show.
Some can have to get really leanbefore they will have ab
definition.
I think part of it is just, um,where, how your abs are
structured and where you tend tocarry your body fat.
(08:40):
For me personally, my abs arethe first thing to lean out.
I lean out from top down.
So my, I will, I will get a sixpack, um, before my legs ever
get lean, but I know there areother body types who will get
very lean legs, um, and have toget, you know, work really hard
before their abs will show.
So some of it is just genetic.
(09:01):
You really can't control whereyou're going to lose your fat
from first.
Yeah.
Okay.
So it's not about doing 300 situps a day.
It's about getting lean.
How does someone get lean?
So let's talk about bodycomposition first.
That's just the ratio of fat tomuscle you have on your body.
(09:21):
Um, it's not necessarilyanything to do with your weight
or your BMI.
It's just purely what is yourbody fat percentage.
So obese is commonly referred toas a body fat percentage of over
32%.
You can actually be over 32percent body fat and be at a
very normal BMI.
Um, that would be what we wouldcall skinny fat.
Um, healthy body fat is belowthat.
(09:43):
So usually, you know, 23 to 30percent would be considered
healthy for a female.
Um, Once you get into that 18 to22 percent range, you're going
to look very fit.
You may love how your abs lookat that body fat percentage.
I personally, I have gotten bodyscans off and on, not very
(10:04):
often, but maybe once a yearover the last several years, and
I would say in general when I'mnot in a cut.
Um, so most of the year I sitright around that 20%.
And it's, it's athletic andhealthy.
It's not super lean, but it'slean enough that I certainly
look athletic.
Um, and it's easy for me tomaintain.
I'm eating a lot of food there.
I'm not working out that much.
(10:24):
And it's kind of my happy place.
Um, once you get below that,that 12 to 18 percent body fat,
that's where you're getting intothat.
fitness competitor category.
I've been there.
The leanest I have ever gottenis 13 percent body fat.
And I know that's accuratebecause I was doing the Bob pot
at the time.
And I was, Super lean.
I mean, I look back at picturesand I was ripped.
(10:46):
I had very clear six pack abdefinition, but I will say I was
also kind of miserable.
So I really had to dig deep toget there.
And clearly that was for, youknow, one day stepping on stage.
I was not able, nor did I wantto maintain that look for more
than, you know, a week or two,right.
Surrounding my show.
Um, so that's kind of, um, Whatyou need to think about if you
(11:09):
want your, um, if you want yourabs to show.
So you really want to improveyour body composition by losing
body fat and adding muscle toyour frame.
Um, that is the key.
Okay.
So this is about reducing bodyfat and adding muscle to your
frame.
As you just said, let's startwith the first thing, reducing
body fat.
How does one do that?
Is it, do you do it by fasting,by doing an hour of orange
(11:31):
juice?
Very fitness every day.
How do you do that?
So it really starts with havinga healthy metabolism so you can
effectively go into a caloriedeficit and lose body fat while
still preserving your muscle.
That piece is very important,preserving your muscle.
So if your metabolism isdownregulated, it's going to be
really hard to lose body fat.
(11:53):
No matter how much you'refasting, how low your calories
are, how much orange theory orhigh intensity or whatever sort
of working out you're doing, youhave to have a healthy
metabolism if you want to losebody fat relatively easily.
Most women who have downregulated their metabolism have
gotten that, of course, from noteating enough over a long period
(12:13):
of time or, you know, yo yodieting over a long period of
time.
So you're going to have to starteating more.
and doing some sort ofresistance training to get your
metabolism in a healthy spotfirst.
And you're going to have tofocus on that for probably six
to 12 months.
This is not a, a quick fixscenario.
Um, you're going to have to bein this for the long haul.
(12:34):
If you want to Get those absthat we're talking about here.
And then once you've got yourbody in a good spot, that's when
you can really focus on reducingbody fat, um, and getting those
abs to show.
And, you know, through thisprocess while you're improving
your metabolism, your bodycomposition, which is that body
fat percentage will probablyimprove along the way as well.
(12:55):
Um, so that's, that's kind ofthe bonus that you'll get in
there while you're working onyour metabolism.
I see what you're saying aboutthe healthy metabolism, but it
seems like eating more soundslike the opposite of getting a
flat tummy.
It does.
I'm sure it does.
Um, but if you eat more and liftweights, you're likely going to
start improving.
(13:15):
at body composition.
So more muscle and less body fatmeans a lower body fat
percentage.
And that's how you get those absto show.
It's certainly not going tohappen as fast as you think it
should, but over time you willstart leaning out.
And once your metabolism is in ahealthy spot, that's when you
can really put some focus ontoreducing that body fat, um, in a
(13:36):
healthy way by going into acaloric deficit and your body
should respond.
And then from there, it's kindof, you can take it, you know,
However you want, you can reallytry for that six pack or you can
try for, you know, justsomething a little bit more
maintainable, but once you're ina good spot, you have a lot
more, you have more choices.
Okay, so I guess next question.
(13:59):
How do I know if my metabolismmetabolism is in a good or a bad
spot or, you know, has sloweddown?
This could be an entire podcastin and of itself.
We may have one.
I can't remember.
If we don't, we'll probably doone in the future.
But just in general, if you areregularly eating below 17 1800
calories and you still haveweight to lose, I think that's a
(14:20):
very clear sign, um, that yourmetabolism is not in a great
spot.
Or maybe you have, um, troublemaintaining your weight on,
Lower calories.
Um, that's 17, 1800.
If you're not able to maintainyour weight on that, if you keep
gaining weight on that amount,that's a good sign that your
metabolism has slowed down andprobably needs some work.
(14:41):
Okay.
Okay.
A healthy, faster metabolism.
Sounds good.
I'm on board with that.
But first I really just want tofocus on getting that flat
tummy.
How about I work on mymetabolism after I get rid of my
muffin top?
I can't tell you how often Ihear some variation of that.
Um, there really is no.
It just doesn't work that way.
(15:02):
Um, you can't really choosebetween a flat tummy and a
healthy metabolism.
So you're just not going to beable to get lean if your
metabolism is in a bad spot.
And I have been there myself.
I have been dieting ondrastically low calories, doing
more than an hour of cardio aday, much of that high intensity
cardio.
And my body would not get lean.
(15:24):
Um, and it's because mymetabolism was in such a bad
place from eating low caloriefor too long, doing too much
cardio for too long.
I mean, that's not the caseanymore.
Um, but you, If you try to dothat, when your body's not in a
good place, you are going to beworking so hard only to be so
frustrated that your body is notresponding the way you want it
(15:44):
to.
Um, as a general rule here atcouture fitness, we say that you
need at least 500 calories ofrunway in order to lose.
Any significant amount of bodyfat.
So if we do the math, let's justsay somebody's eating 1000
calories a day, which is superlow.
You do not have enough caloricrunway to lose any significant
(16:05):
amount of weight from there.
We just, you can't cut fromthat.
You've got to be eating enough,um, to cut from, um, and not be
miserable or even, you know,dangerous to your health.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, how about this?
Can't I just sip on some lemonwater and fast, even, even if
I'm, you know, not in thatcalorie spot you mentioned and
(16:26):
get a flatter tummy that way?
No, certainly not.
Um, it's not going to doanything for your metabolism.
It's not going to help withweight loss.
You really cannot ignore thispiece.
You have to do the work ofinvesting in your metabolism.
And if you want to drink lemonwater, the, along this whole
journey, Go for it.
Um, but it's not, you know, it'snot some magic thing.
(16:47):
There, there is no magic thingor I would be doing it and I
would be telling all of myclients to do it.
So there's no magical propertiesto sipping on lemon water or
fasting for my metabolism.
No.
Not at all.
Okay.
Okay.
So what is the path to a trimmerwaistline or a flat tummy after
a person has spent some timeinvesting in their metabolism?
(17:11):
Well, let's just assume they'vegot their calories in a healthy
spot.
Um, once you're there, how doyou do it?
300 sit ups a day?
So like I touched on in thebeginning, you, you can do some
ab work, but you need so muchless than you probably think if
you want to get good abs.
So obviously you need to justreduce your body fat, um, by
moderately reducing yourcalories, lifting weights,
(17:34):
getting in general movement fromthings like walking, um, And
that's going to do more work foryou than doing 300 sit ups a
day.
Abs are revealed in the kitchen.
Um, so it's going to be allabout a very well calibrated
diet.
Um, and then you need to belifting all of your body parts.
And maybe that sounds weird,like what do, you know, what
(17:56):
does building my legs and glutesand back and shoulders have to
do with my abs?
First of all, all of these WhatI call the big lifts, things
like squatting, shoulderpressing, um, all of these
things, pull ups, push ups,they're all going to engage your
abs so much more than you think.
Um, you know, if you've got weakabs, try to do a push up.
You're just not going to be ableto.
(18:17):
So all of these moves areengaging your core, even if
you're not, you know, thinkingthat, hey, this is an ab move
that I'm doing.
You are getting a lot ofengagement in so many different
exercises, um, with your core.
So that's, that's why I thinkyou, you just don't need to do
as much direct ab work as youthink, and building up all of
these body parts, it's going tohelp you get leaner.
(18:40):
Um, and it's also going to giveyou, I think the shape that most
people want without maybeknowing how to get it.
So most of us want sort of thathourglass look and getting that
flat stomach is about more thanjust It's, you know, eating less
and getting skinny.
It's about building out bodyparts like your shoulders and
your lats and your glutes tohelp give you that curvy look.
Building out those body parts isgoing to make your waist look
(19:02):
smaller and leaner.
Um, so that's what I would say.
Just a general lifting programthat targets all of the major
body parts, movement, and a wellcalibrated body.
caloric deficit achieved throughnutrition.
Okay.
All right.
Well, what if I don't actuallyreally care about a flat tummy?
I don't have any desire to weara bikini this summer and I've
(19:24):
sort of made peace with themuffin top.
Um, should I care about this asa flat stomach just for show?
I think that's a good point.
And I think, you know what, ifyou don't care about looking
great in a bikini, that isawesome.
No problem.
Um, however, I would say fatcollection throughout your torso
is actually a lot more dangerousthan fat that may deposit in
(19:45):
your hips, legs, glutes, thosesorts of areas.
Um, a lot of the fat that may bein your stomach is what we call
visceral fat.
And that's the fat that collectsaround your organs.
That is why the waistmeasurement is something that
insurance companies even careabout.
Because the size of your waistis directly correlated to your
overall health.
So you can be at a healthyweight, but if you've got a
(20:07):
large waistline, that still canbe actually pretty dangerous.
Um, you know, that this visceralfat is very different than just
the, the subcutaneous fat, whichis the fat that's just right
under your skin that you cankind of pinch.
Um, like right now, if I pinchmy tricep, I can pinch some fat.
Um, that.
you know, maybe I don't lovethat fat, but it's not
dangerous, but the kind that youcan't really pinch around your
(20:29):
midsection, um, that's thevisceral or that dangerous type
of fat.
So this type of fat is going toraise your risk for lots of.
Pretty serious conditions, heartdisease, Alzheimer's, type 2
diabetes, stroke, highcholesterol.
Um, a lot of these conditionsare strongly linked to having
too much fat around yourmidsection.
(20:51):
Um, this can also make yourblood pressure go up, it can
cause inflammation, um, lots andlots of problems.
So I think it goes well beyondjust wanting to look good in a
bikini.
Okay.
Yeah.
And, um, I think what we, Ithink these two like good body
composition and reducingvisceral fat go hand in hand.
There are very few people whohave a lean body composition
(21:16):
that is, are worried about theirexpanding waistline.
So it really is about addingmuscle to your body, decreasing
body fat overall, just as ahealth proposition.
It also makes you look great.
Okay.
Um, so you've convinced me, itsounds like getting lean, um,
especially through my torso isgood for my health.
(21:36):
How do I tell if I'm actuallyimproving my body composition?
You kind of mentioned earlierthat you can be a healthy
weight, but be obese.
Um, you, or conversely, um,funnily enough, I just had my
BMI done, right.
I did some tests and it spit outmy BMI.
And according to my BMI, I amobese.
Um, now I know I have, I have avery lean body composition, but,
(21:58):
um, how do I know there's somuch confusing information out
there, what should I be payingattention to?
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, I would say you canditch scale, um, you know,
certainly being a hundred poundsover what, what would consider
be considered an ideal body.
Weight probably isn't healthyunless you're some crazy male.
(22:18):
bodybuilder on steroids, butthat's not our, you know, that's
not who we're talking to here.
Um, so I would say look at yourwaist measurement.
That's a really, really easything you can do maybe once a
week.
Um, just, and don't worry aboutbeing perfect with that.
Just do it in the same placeevery week.
If you just want to take itright around your belly button,
that's perfectly fine.
Um, so monitor that if that isgoing down, you are most likely
(22:42):
losing body fat.
The other thing you can do, um,is get some sort of a body scan.
There's different, differentways you can do this.
A lot of gyms or supplementstores actually have free body
scans where you step on thescale and you hold these handles
and it will give you an idea ofwhat your body fat percentage
is.
I would say maybe it's not ahundred percent accurate, but
you can at least see trends.
(23:03):
You can see if it's going up ordown.
Um, and then if you really wantto get something accurate, you
can do something like the bodpod that I talked about doing
myself several years ago, or aDEXA scan or something like
that.
That's how you can tell if youare progressing and losing
actual body fat, which is whatwe actually want to be losing.
(23:24):
Okay, that sounds good.
Um, yeah, and I know that a lotof like, um, some of these
things you can get like Grouponcoupons for and get a good deal
on those.
So yeah, yeah, I've never done aDEXA.
I've only done the BOD pod andit was actually really cool.
It just, it just takes a littlemore time.
You've got to drive somewhereand you know, it's a little more
invasive to your time, but ifyou want something really
(23:46):
accurate, it is kind of cool tosee that data.
Okay.
So Joe, I'm going to ask you aquestion.
Now you have coached a lot ofladies and you've competed
yourself.
And I know you've got, you'vegotten yourself some really
great abs.
Um, what is your best advice asa life coach for banishing the
muffin top?
And you can give us some verytough love here if you need to.
(24:07):
Okay.
I have two words, reasonableexpectations.
Number one, listen to us.
When we say that this all startswith a healthy metabolism, it is
going to be very, very difficultto lose weight and lose body
fat.
If your metabolism has sloweddown significantly and is
limping along.
Um, the good news is that Ithink you mentioned this
(24:27):
earlier.
You will likely lean out whileyou are investing in their
metabolism.
I've seen clients who havespent.
Upwards of a year working ongetting their metabolisms back
to a healthy spot.
And even if they haven't lost alot of weight by the scale, um,
by their pictures, you can see anoticeable decrease in the
amount of fat sitting in theirtorsos.
(24:47):
So, you know, don't, don't thinkall is lost if you've got to
spend some time.
Getting your metabolism back toa healthy spot.
You, you can make improvementsin both areas, but if you don't
take the time to do this, youwill just prolong the process,
spin your wheels and probably bevery, very frustrated in the
process.
So just heed that warning.
(25:07):
Number two is cut the booze.
The wine belly is a thing.
And I don't know if you havenoticed this, but I, you know,
drinking a lot of alcoholdefinitely Contributes to the
muffin top.
So to the point that I can tellfrom pics from pictures now,
like starting pictures, if aclient is drinking on a regular
(25:28):
basis, there's just a bunch ofbloat and like a bigger belly.
That's that's a wine belly.
And that's the best way I candescribe it.
I don't know if you can see thatin the pictures, but if you want
to cut out and lean or lean outthrough your torso, consider
cutting out or.
cutting back on the booze.
Um, that's in addition to allthe things that you mentioned,
the calorie deficit and liftingweights, you know, it doesn't
(25:50):
make any sense to be whiningabout why, you know, you just,
your stomach is still so chubby.
If you're drinking six, sevenglasses of wine a week, that
those two things are notcongruent with each other.
Um, third, um, You know, I thinka six pack is not something to
obsess about until you've gotsome healthy nutrition and
exercise habits in place.
(26:11):
Um, when you are, you know, justnot paying attention to your
nutrition, can't make it to thegym, sitting around whining
that, you know, your abs aren'tshowing is what I call fantasy
world.
Um, there's just no sense inexpending a bunch of energy.
Whining about this if, you know,every evening you're scavenging
around for food, like eatingstale pizza for dinner, because
(26:33):
it's the only food you have inyour house.
Um, and you're not moving yourbody on a regular basis and
drinking a bunch during theweek.
Um, to expect to have, you know,a slim trim waistline when
you're engaging in those habitsis, you know, Total and complete
fantasy.
So, um, certainly don't gocomplaining to your coach that
you need more ab exercises toget rid of your muffin top.
(26:55):
If you're doing those things,um, I think really, and, and
honestly, I mean, you and I canboth speak to this.
That's not typically what wesee.
Um, what we get more is womenwho it's very, uh, I really
empathize with them.
It's a very.
Frustrating place to be there.
30, 40 pounds overweight andvery concerned about their
(27:15):
growing midsection, but they'reeating like 12 or 1300 calories
a day.
And it's like, well, no, I needto get rid of, you know, my
waistline is huge.
I'm paying more in insurancebecause I'm deemed unhealthy.
You've got to get this weightoff of me.
And, um, I mean, the reality is,is that that's probably, yeah,
we can start making inroads,but, but they're, they've really
(27:36):
kind of put their body in fatstorage mode and it's going to
take some time to get it out ofthat and get that waistline
down.
I think the bottom line is thatamazing abs are just a sign of
really good self care habits.
So that's fine.
That's my advice.
What do you think about that?
I would agree.
I would agree with all of that.
Um, okay.
Have you seen the wine bellybefore?
(27:58):
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Probably not as, um, I don't seethe details maybe like that as
much as you do.
I'll have to put them in now.
I'm going to start looking.
Yeah.
Okay, so we're going to wrapthis up by putting on our
physique coach hats now, andwe're going to provide our best
do's and don'ts for banishingthe muffin top and building a
(28:19):
body that you love, and you canat any age.
So, Joe, why don't you go first?
Okay.
So I would say like we'vetouched on, get, do get rid of
the muffin top by putting yourmetabolism first.
Um, you will like the results somuch better.
You're going to get resultsnumber one, and then you will
like the way that you look somuch better.
Number, what I would say don'tdo is some sort of crash diet,
(28:43):
three weeks to a bikini bodydetox.
That's not going to do anythingis that that is a complete waste
of your time and money and isgoing to set you back further
from getting rid of that muffintop.
Thanks.
Bye.
Bye.
What'd you say?
I didn't.
It's going to be miserable.
Yeah.
Okay.
So my do is focus first onimproving your overall body
(29:04):
composition, that body fatpercentage number and do not
obsess about the scale.
You can be losing weight andactually increasing body fat.
You can also be gaining weightand decreasing body fat, um,
and, and the inches around yourwaist.
So, um, really focused on that,that body fat percentage.
Over the scale when you'regetting started, my next, um, do
(29:27):
is do make strength training forlarge body parts of priority and
maybe include an app exercise atthe end of each of those
workouts.
So, you know, once you've donemaybe a workout that has like,
you know, squats, deadlifts,shoulder, presses, chest,
presses, um, maybe some rows.
Yeah, sure.
Include, you know, a set ofplanks or reverse crunches or
(29:48):
some sort of ab exercise at theend of that workout, but don't
do hours and hours of abworkouts, you know, 300 sit ups
every night for Pilates classesa week, expecting, you know, a
full day.
Great abs.
Now I'm not hating on Pilates.
I think Pilates is great formobility and core strength.
Um, but having great corestrength doesn't necessarily
(30:11):
translate into visible abs.
It's a great thing to have, butit, that it's not the same
thing.
And if your nutrition isn't onpoint and you don't have much
lean muscle mass doing a bunchof Pilates or 300 sit ups a
night, it's not going to leanyou out.
Yeah.
And remember that abs are justanother muscle.
There's no reason to work themany more than any other muscle.
Um, think about, let's just useshoulders.
(30:33):
For example, if you're doingmore at spending more time on
your abs than you are yourshoulders, then you're probably
doing things a bit wrong and youmight need to just, you know,
back a little bit off the absand focus more on some of the
other body parts.
Okay.
So my do is make sure nutritionis on point.
Um, and don't fall for thingslike Fat burners and other
(30:54):
gimmicks.
Remember that abs are made inthe kitchen.
Um, there's no shortcut that'sgoing to get you these great
apps.
Okay.
My next do is, is along the samelines.
Do make sure you're eatingenough and giving your body the
nutrition it needs to dosomething with all the working
out you're doing.
I would say do not fast.
I think fasting is stressful onyour body.
(31:15):
It's going to probably increasecortisol production.
That's actually going to workagainst decreasing your Your
muffin top because cortisoltends to cause fat to collect
around your body over time.
Now, I've heard a lot of peoplewho fasted, fasted, tell me, oh,
my flat belly is gone.
And I've looked at theirmeasurements when they were
(31:36):
fasting and when they're eatingand the belly measurements have
often gone down.
I think what, um, if you've donea lot of fasting, it does feel
strange to have more water andundigested food sitting in your
stomach.
That's not the same thing as amuffin top.
So fasting doesn't, you may feellike it's giving you a flatter
stomach, but the measurementswould tell otherwise, um, and
(31:59):
probably is just going toexacerbate getting, you know,
the results that you want.
Yeah, don't mistake foractually, you know, actually
just feeling full and satiatedfor, you know, feeling like, um,
for, for actually gaining bodyfat.
I think when you fast, you mightget really used to that empty
stomach feeling.
And when you stop doing it, thatmight just be a different
(32:20):
feeling for you, but, um, justsomething you have to get used
to again.
Okay, so my next do is to reallyreduce alcohol consumption if
you are drinking a lot.
Um, we like to say in generalless than four drinks a week.
I personally drink almost neverbecause it makes me sleep
terribly.
Even if I have one drink and ifI have two, I am going to be
(32:42):
very tired the next day and ISimply don't have time in my
life with, you know, a full timejob, this business, three kids,
my own working out to be tiredeven for one single day.
So I've pretty much just said,um, I will stick to sparkling
water with lime and I'mperfectly okay with that.
Um, so, you know, cut back onyour alcohol, but my don't that
(33:04):
goes along with that is don'tfeel like you have to cut out
carbs.
Carbs are good for you for somany reasons.
We should do a whole podcast oncarbs.
That's my next one.
Yeah.
Okay.
My next one is do focus onbuilding a symmetrical physique,
meaning like what you talkedabout earlier, like creating
that hourglass shape, um,creating the illusion of a
smaller waist by building outyour glutes and your shoulders.
(33:27):
Don't obsess about having a sixpack.
A lot of that is genetic.
It's kind of how your abs arestructured.
Um, I do get a six pack, buthonestly it can look very
blocky.
Um, so like.
That's honestly in, um, likecompetitions where they're not
even going for a six packbecause it can make you kind of
(33:48):
look thicker through the waist.
If you have a lot of abdefinition, um, or thick abs
through the waist.
So six pack is fun.
It's nice.
I wouldn't even make it a goal.
I, again, I would, I wouldpersonally just focus on a very
healthy body composition.
And if you are geneticallygifted or genetically have the
ability to have a six pack,it'll show up if you get lean
(34:09):
enough.
Yeah.
Okay.
My last one, it's very specific.
Don't do those weighted obliqueside bends where you were.
I've used to see people at thegym doing this.
When I would go to the gym whereyou're standing there, holding a
weight to one side and then kindof leading over, working on
those side ab muscles or yourobliques, that is going to give
(34:30):
you a thicker waist and go kindof against that hour glass look.
So, um, don't do those.
That's not the look that I thinkany, Um, and I'm going to talk
about, um, what the rest of usare probably going for.
So.
Yeah.
I used to do those all the timebefore I had any idea what I was
doing.
Because it would make me sore.
So I thought I was gettingreally.
Yeah.
I would have, I would up theweight and yeah.
(34:51):
It wasn't helping my physique atall.
So.
That's okay.
I'm sure I did too.
And.
You know, it's fine.
Now, you know, so if you weredoing those, just stop.
Okay.
So let's talk a little bitabout.
Where we're at in our own, um, Iguess fitness journeys and our
(35:11):
own physique goal, short term,um, physique goals.
Do you want to go first?
You want me to go first?
Um, you can go first.
Okay.
So I am at the very tail end of,I won't call it like a reverse.
I've just been eating at ahealthy maintenance of about 2,
100 calories since.
I don't know, June maybe of lastyear.
(35:33):
Um, so, you know, about ninemonths.
Um, it's great.
I can fit so many fun things inthere, but I will admit I feel a
little bit fluffy right now.
My weight is, I'm, I'm, youknow, my weight is fine.
Um, I just feel a little bitfluffy.
And so I'm going to start asmall cut.
here very soon.
Um, nothing drastic and I'lltalk more about the details of
(35:56):
that maybe on the next podcast.
Um, but I've been having to tellmyself for the last couple of
months, Hey, just because youwere feeling fluffy, you were
not feeling lean.
This is still not the time tostart dieting.
If we all started dieting, everytime we felt fluffy, we would be
dieting off and on all the time.
Um, so I've just had to, youknow, fight the urge to say, Oh,
I would like to lose just acouple pounds right now.
(36:18):
Um, and I've just kept mycalories high and I know that
the time will come to do my cut.
And once I'm in it, I will wishI wasn't in it.
Um, so that's kind of where I'mat right now.
I'm going to do probably aneight to 12 week cut just for
summertime.
Um, my goal isn't to lose thatmuch, maybe five to eight pounds
(36:40):
and just tighten up a littlebit.
Um, and I know we kind of, weoften end the show with some of
the, our favorite foods thatwe're fitting into our macros at
the time.
I've got so many favorites thatI'm fitting in still.
Um, but we thought it would befun to maybe talk about things
that for us, we don't want tohave in the house when we're
doing our cut.
So it's hard for me to keepfoods out of the house.
(37:02):
I have Three kids and we do eatregular dessert in our house.
Um, so it's not as easy for meto just say, Oh, I'm just not
going to have this in the house,but I have found for me,
anything with fake sugar makesme just want to keep eating
more.
Um, and I've.
I've heard different theories onthis that it's, it's a different
type of sweet.
(37:22):
And so when you get a little bitof taste of that fake sweet, it
almost makes you just want toeat more and more and more
because your body is actuallycraving real, like, real sugar,
something that's sweetened, um,in a more natural way, as
opposed to, you know, different,um, fake sugars.
So for me, keeping things like,I know there's some protein
peanut butters that a lot of,our clients and followers really
(37:45):
like.
For me, those things are justdangerous.
I don't want to have just atablespoon of those.
I want to have like half of thecontainer.
So, um, keeping those type ofthings out is probably key for
me.
But I do have to just learn todeal with having all kinds of
chocolate and candy in my house.
And yes, I might want to havesome of that when I'm doing my
(38:06):
cut.
But, um, I'm just going to haveto, to fight those urges.
Cause there's no keeping thatout of the house for me.
So what about you?
Where are you at?
And what foods do you try tokeep out of your house when
you're cutting?
Yeah.
So because of this trip, I am,I'm doing like what I'm calling
like a pre cut.
Cause, um, we are both kind ofcutting for the same event in
(38:27):
June.
Um, some pictures that we'regoing to have taken.
So, um, that's, You know, that'sa good motivation for me to, um,
do a cut, but like you, I, I'mkind of fluffy.
Um, I haven't, you know, been ina calorie deficit.
Well, I tried to do like alittle mini cut in August.
It did not work for a variety ofreasons, but you know, my
(38:48):
calories have been high.
Um, so to prepare, and I, thismay just be like, you know, not
wanting to do the work just yet,but I'm doing what I'm calling a
pre cut where I am actuallybeing very good about tracking
All of my macros.
So I know what my maintenancecalories are, um, and really
paying attention to just all thebites, looks and tastes or
(39:10):
grabbing this or that.
Um, and, and for me, you know,where I, after all these years,
you know, where I really causeproblems for myself is I can't
have things like licorice, gummybears, cinnamon bears in my
house.
I cannot eat just one.
I just will eat and eat and eaton those.
It's like, it's like.
(39:30):
Especially licorice.
I don't know something about thetexture or the chew.
So I don't have those in myhouse.
I mean, I've known that and thenthings like crumble cookie, um,
which my daughter loves.
Good.
I just can't eat that if theyare around, I will eat them.
So I just haven't learned tomake peace with that, um, for
(39:50):
myself.
And, um, You know, if we'regoing to do crumble cookie, we
just don't get like a six or,you know, they're very expensive
to bring them.
You don't bring that many home.
Um, I don't do like a lot ofbaking of like pans of brownies
and stuff, because I will wantto go and eat one every time I'm
in the kitchen.
So I just know that aboutmyself, but things like I can do
(40:11):
like the, the fun nut buttersand, you know, I'm measuring
them out.
Usually, I would just not bevery diligent about that.
So I'm doing a little, you know,just kind of getting myself
ready for the cut.
Um, as I have lost a little bitof weight doing that, but, um,
but yeah, um, and intentionallynot bringing stuff home,
especially after the holidaysthat are like sugar cookies.
(40:33):
candy, that kind of stuff that Iknow will just call to me in the
kitchen.
So, um, um, but I, I think, youknow, we all have our, I call
it, we all have our ownkryptonite.
You can spend a bunch of timetrying to desensitize yourself
to it.
And for me, it's honestly, It'snot worth it.
Just, I just don't have itaround and then I can't eat it.
(40:55):
So that's the easy way to do it.
And here's one thing I tellmyself.
Anytime I do a cut, I tellmyself I'm only doing this for
two or three months in two orthree months.
I can, I will have, my macroswill be high again and I can fit
it all in.
And that makes it feel much,much more doable.
It's not like I'm tellingmyself, Oh, you're going to try
to never eat.
(41:15):
Cadbury eggs again.
I say that because it's one ofmy favorite things right now.
And I just bought two more bigpackages of them today because I
love them, but I'll, I will trynot to eat many of them during
my cut, just because they don'tfill me up.
Um, and even if I can fit theminto my macros, they're going to
leave me hungrier than if I putsomething just more natural and
filling in there instead.
(41:36):
Um, but I'll tell myself, Hey,in three months you will have
room for this Cadbury egg again.
So you're not giving it upforever.
And that mentally helps mebecause I don't feel like I'm
giving it up for, for that long.
And I tell myself I can doanything for eight to 12 weeks.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think that's a goodstrategy.
Um, that does not work for mewith cinnamon bears and crumble
cookie.
(41:57):
So I know that about myself.
Yeah.
Knowing yourself is actually abig part of a successful cut.
Cause I've had successful andunsuccessful ones where I
haven't been able to stick withit.
And now I kind of know, causeI've done this many times.
I kind of know What, you know,how, how the best way to do it
for me is just like, you know,the best way to do it meant, you
know, mentally for you to helpyou stick with it.
(42:18):
So, um, that's helpful too.
Yeah.
So, okay.
All right.
Well, hopefully you have a greatidea now of what To do and not
to do if you want to get, um,rid of the muffin top for good,
uh, we can certainly help you,especially if you have a sense
that maybe your metabolism hasslowed down a bit or has
(42:40):
downregulated a bit, uh, book aconsult call with us.
If you want to talk about thatmore or definitely sign up for
our April one on one program, wewill tell you exactly what to
do.
Um, and what we think is goingon and what you are going to
need to do to, uh, improve thatbody composition.
So, um, links are in the shownotes and other than that, have
(43:02):
a great day and week and we'lltalk to you next time.
Bye.
Hi everyone.
That's what we've got for youtoday about how you can invest
in your metabolism and startlosing weight by eating more and
exercising less.
Trust us.
You aren't too old and it'snever too late.
If you want to learn more aboutthis topic, head over to our
Facebook group, Boost YourMetabolism After Age 30.
(43:25):
You can also follow us onInstagram or Facebook at Couture
Fitness Coaching.
And if you want to work with us,join us for our next 12 week
session.
Hello.
It's Joe from couture coaching.
This month, the month of August,we are releasing our most
downloaded and popular podcast.
This week, we are replaying ourvery popular episode called
banish your muffin top byboosting your metabolism.
I think a lot of women wouldlove to have a six pack or want
(00:26):
to know how they can get theirtiny waist back from their
younger years.
And the answer might be a littlesurprising to you.
So check out this very popularepisode.
Thanks for listening.
(00:48):
Welcome to the boost yourmetabolism after age 30 podcast.
I'm Joe and I'm Allison.
And we're your co hosts and thefounders of couture fitness and
lifestyle coaching.
We're on a quest to help womendesign lives.
They love and bodies.
They adore.
We were fed up with the dietingindustry and decided to create
something different.
We're starting a calories uprevolution where women are
(01:10):
nourished.
Their metabolisms are healed andtheir bodies and brains start
working for them in the battleagainst weight loss.
If you feel like your metabolismis wrecked and you want to lose
weight once and for all, you arein the right place.
Welcome everyone.
This is Allison.
And today you have both me andJoe here, and we're today going
(01:32):
to continue with our how tobuild it series.
So today we're going to betalking about.
Abs and how you can banish themuffin top by boosting your
metabolism.
First, I want to very brieflytouch on some things that are
going on with us here at couturefitness.
Um, we are currently doing adrawing to help generate more
reviews for our podcast, causewe want to more people to be
(01:56):
able to find us.
So if you will give us a fivestar rating and a review, And
then email us at info atcouturefitnesscoaching.
com.
We will put you in a drawing towin 250.
Um, and we will do that drawingonce we get to 50 reviews.
So please, if we have beenhelpful to you, please give us a
(02:18):
five star rating and review.
And then next we are starting toenroll for the next quarter of
our one on one coaching program.
So if you think you would liketo work with us, with our custom
one on one coaching, where wetell you exactly what you need
to do from day one.
You know what workouts you needto do to what you should be
eating.
(02:39):
Um, check out our website.
You can get on the waitlistthere or you can schedule a
consult call with us directlyfrom there.
Or you can always email us atinfo at couture fitness
coaching.
com as well.
If you want to work with us forour next one on one coaching
session, that starts April 1st.
So before we get into the topicat hand, Joe, what is new with
you?
(03:00):
Actually, a lot is new with you.
I am just starting a kitchenrenovation.
I guess as this airs, I'll be inthe middle of my kitchen
renovation.
And then I'm going to Paris andLondon at the end of March for
spring break with my kiddos andmy husband.
Um, so I'm not insane.
I sort of timed these thingstogether, hoping that summer,
(03:20):
most of the kitchen renovationwould be completely out of.
It would be done while we weregone.
So that, you know, I, the timethat my kitchen's out of
operation, we would be not inthe house.
So, but getting there is a bitof a push.
So needless to say, um, in termsof the topic at hand, getting or
keeping a six pack will not beon my to do list for this month.
(03:42):
Um, but at the same time,there's no reason I can't keep
up with some healthy nutritionand exercise habits.
Um, and I'll just work on thesix pack.
When I get back from Europe, soit's all good and worth it.
Um, and really, this is hugeprogress for me.
Um, I am a Virgo.
So that means I'm very all ornothing.
Um, and, um, in the past, Iprobably could have used both,
(04:04):
you know, the trip, um,Dismantling my kitchen as an
excuse to get super overwhelmed.
Not really an excuse.
I would have felt overwhelmedand then just thought, Oh,
everything's in chaos.
So I have to stop working outand I'll just have to eat, take
out a bunch.
But, um, but I've, you know,matured a lot, I guess I would
say so.
Um, so I won't be, you know,trying to diet very hard or, or,
(04:27):
you know, I don't have any hugephysique goals from March, um,
that can all be, you know,happen if I wanted to when I get
back.
So that's what's going on withme.
That's exciting.
I've never been to Europe andI'm jealous, but I'm not ready
to take my family yet becausetaking a three year old to
Europe doesn't sound fun for me.
So maybe since you're down theroad.
(04:47):
Stay tuned that the 3 year oldmight be better than the
teenagers.
I'm taking a lot of complainingand why do we have to get up so
early when they're used tosleeping into like 10 or 11.
So teenagers and toddlers have alot of common traits.
I'll tell you.
I hear that they are the sameamount of work.
(05:08):
Different kind of work, butteenagers are a lot of work.
So, um, okay, well, to the topicat hand, um, I would say most of
our clients don't necessarilywant a six pack, but they do
want to lean out through theirtorsos, um, and are not loving
the muffin top or spare tirethat has appeared around their
midsection as they've, you know,hit their thirties, forties,
(05:29):
maybe fifties.
So today we're going to give youa roadmap for creating a trimmer
waistline and talk about thisfrom.
Really a strategy and scienceand physique perspective.
And at the end, give you someclear do's and don'ts.
Um, so you know how to bestinvest your time and energy.
So Alison, um, you and I haveboth competed in fitness
(05:50):
competitions and I will, youknow, I think we both agree
muffin tops and spare tires aredefinitely not what the judges
are looking for from a physiqueperspective.
Um, but I'm curious, how manyhours a week did you do Pilates
and sit ups to get ready foryour shows and how much did you
fast and how many gallons oflemon water did you drink to get
a flat tummy for your shows?
(06:11):
Okay, so lots of questions.
So first, I've never fasted andI don't want to because I get
very hangry.
Um, when I go too long withouteating.
So no fasting, lemon water.
I never intentionally drinklemon water for any other
reason.
Besides I love the taste of it.
Um, so it's nothing regular, butI do think it's healthy.
(06:33):
Um, but I never use it as somesort of trick to get lean
because.
I don't think it would help meat all in that way, um, but as
far as how much time did I spenddirectly targeting my abs for
these competitions?
Shockingly, zero minutes a weekto maybe five minutes a week.
(06:54):
I know I had at least, you know,A couple of shows when I did no
direct ab work whatsoever.
Um, and I'll talk about how myabs still certainly were, you
know, being used.
Um, but I didn't really do anysit ups or planks or, so I've
never actually done Pilates inmy life.
I have nothing against it.
I've just, you know, It's justnot something I've ever tried.
(07:15):
Um, and I have had other showswhere I did do some ab work, but
it was pretty minimal.
Um, so I'll touch on that andhow I think abs are just a
little bit different than mostof the other body parts that
we've talked about.
Okay.
Well, I think most people willfind that answer pretty shocking
that you weren't doing hours andhours of sit ups.
So I think more than any otherbody part, it's just about
(07:53):
getting lean enough, uh, foryour abs to show, um, how much
your abs actually show or howmuch definition you can see is
really just a matter factor ofhow much body fat you have over
them.
So you've got to be lean enough.
And I do think that is a littlebit different than some of the
other body parts where you canreally make them pop and look
good, you know, even, even witha little more body fat over
(08:17):
them.
Um, I think abs, you simply haveto be lean enough.
Some of this is genetic, I willsay.
Some people can be not as leanand have their abs show.
Some can have to get really leanbefore they will have ab
definition.
I think part of it is just, um,where, how your abs are
structured and where you tend tocarry your body fat.
(08:40):
For me personally, my abs arethe first thing to lean out.
I lean out from top down.
So my, I will, I will get a sixpack, um, before my legs ever
get lean, but I know there areother body types who will get
very lean legs, um, and have toget, you know, work really hard
before their abs will show.
So some of it is just genetic.
(09:01):
You really can't control whereyou're going to lose your fat
from first.
Yeah.
Okay.
So it's not about doing 300 situps a day.
It's about getting lean.
How does someone get lean?
So let's talk about bodycomposition first.
That's just the ratio of fat tomuscle you have on your body.
(09:21):
Um, it's not necessarilyanything to do with your weight
or your BMI.
It's just purely what is yourbody fat percentage.
So obese is commonly referred toas a body fat percentage of over
32%.
You can actually be over 32percent body fat and be at a
very normal BMI.
Um, that would be what we wouldcall skinny fat.
Um, healthy body fat is belowthat.
(09:43):
So usually, you know, 23 to 30percent would be considered
healthy for a female.
Um, Once you get into that 18 to22 percent range, you're going
to look very fit.
You may love how your abs lookat that body fat percentage.
I personally, I have gotten bodyscans off and on, not very
(10:04):
often, but maybe once a yearover the last several years, and
I would say in general when I'mnot in a cut.
Um, so most of the year I sitright around that 20%.
And it's, it's athletic andhealthy.
It's not super lean, but it'slean enough that I certainly
look athletic.
Um, and it's easy for me tomaintain.
I'm eating a lot of food there.
I'm not working out that much.
(10:24):
And it's kind of my happy place.
Um, once you get below that,that 12 to 18 percent body fat,
that's where you're getting intothat.
fitness competitor category.
I've been there.
The leanest I have ever gottenis 13 percent body fat.
And I know that's accuratebecause I was doing the Bob pot
at the time.
And I was, Super lean.
I mean, I look back at picturesand I was ripped.
(10:46):
I had very clear six pack abdefinition, but I will say I was
also kind of miserable.
So I really had to dig deep toget there.
And clearly that was for, youknow, one day stepping on stage.
I was not able, nor did I wantto maintain that look for more
than, you know, a week or two,right.
Surrounding my show.
Um, so that's kind of, um, Whatyou need to think about if you
(11:09):
want your, um, if you want yourabs to show.
So you really want to improveyour body composition by losing
body fat and adding muscle toyour frame.
Um, that is the key.
Okay.
So this is about reducing bodyfat and adding muscle to your
frame.
As you just said, let's startwith the first thing, reducing
body fat.
How does one do that?
Is it, do you do it by fasting,by doing an hour of orange
(11:31):
juice?
Very fitness every day.
How do you do that?
So it really starts with havinga healthy metabolism so you can
effectively go into a caloriedeficit and lose body fat while
still preserving your muscle.
That piece is very important,preserving your muscle.
So if your metabolism isdownregulated, it's going to be
really hard to lose body fat.
(11:53):
No matter how much you'refasting, how low your calories
are, how much orange theory orhigh intensity or whatever sort
of working out you're doing, youhave to have a healthy
metabolism if you want to losebody fat relatively easily.
Most women who have downregulated their metabolism have
gotten that, of course, from noteating enough over a long period
(12:13):
of time or, you know, yo yodieting over a long period of
time.
So you're going to have to starteating more.
and doing some sort ofresistance training to get your
metabolism in a healthy spotfirst.
And you're going to have tofocus on that for probably six
to 12 months.
This is not a, a quick fixscenario.
Um, you're going to have to bein this for the long haul.
(12:34):
If you want to Get those absthat we're talking about here.
And then once you've got yourbody in a good spot, that's when
you can really focus on reducingbody fat, um, and getting those
abs to show.
And, you know, through thisprocess while you're improving
your metabolism, your bodycomposition, which is that body
fat percentage will probablyimprove along the way as well.
(12:55):
Um, so that's, that's kind ofthe bonus that you'll get in
there while you're working onyour metabolism.
I see what you're saying aboutthe healthy metabolism, but it
seems like eating more soundslike the opposite of getting a
flat tummy.
It does.
I'm sure it does.
Um, but if you eat more and liftweights, you're likely going to
start improving.
(13:15):
at body composition.
So more muscle and less body fatmeans a lower body fat
percentage.
And that's how you get those absto show.
It's certainly not going tohappen as fast as you think it
should, but over time you willstart leaning out.
And once your metabolism is in ahealthy spot, that's when you
can really put some focus ontoreducing that body fat, um, in a
(13:36):
healthy way by going into acaloric deficit and your body
should respond.
And then from there, it's kindof, you can take it, you know,
However you want, you can reallytry for that six pack or you can
try for, you know, justsomething a little bit more
maintainable, but once you're ina good spot, you have a lot
more, you have more choices.
Okay, so I guess next question.
(13:59):
How do I know if my metabolismmetabolism is in a good or a bad
spot or, you know, has sloweddown?
This could be an entire podcastin and of itself.
We may have one.
I can't remember.
If we don't, we'll probably doone in the future.
But just in general, if you areregularly eating below 17 1800
calories and you still haveweight to lose, I think that's a
(14:20):
very clear sign, um, that yourmetabolism is not in a great
spot.
Or maybe you have, um, troublemaintaining your weight on,
Lower calories.
Um, that's 17, 1800.
If you're not able to maintainyour weight on that, if you keep
gaining weight on that amount,that's a good sign that your
metabolism has slowed down andprobably needs some work.
(14:41):
Okay.
Okay.
A healthy, faster metabolism.
Sounds good.
I'm on board with that.
But first I really just want tofocus on getting that flat
tummy.
How about I work on mymetabolism after I get rid of my
muffin top?
I can't tell you how often Ihear some variation of that.
Um, there really is no.
It just doesn't work that way.
(15:02):
Um, you can't really choosebetween a flat tummy and a
healthy metabolism.
So you're just not going to beable to get lean if your
metabolism is in a bad spot.
And I have been there myself.
I have been dieting ondrastically low calories, doing
more than an hour of cardio aday, much of that high intensity
cardio.
And my body would not get lean.
(15:24):
Um, and it's because mymetabolism was in such a bad
place from eating low caloriefor too long, doing too much
cardio for too long.
I mean, that's not the caseanymore.
Um, but you, If you try to dothat, when your body's not in a
good place, you are going to beworking so hard only to be so
frustrated that your body is notresponding the way you want it
(15:44):
to.
Um, as a general rule here atcouture fitness, we say that you
need at least 500 calories ofrunway in order to lose.
Any significant amount of bodyfat.
So if we do the math, let's justsay somebody's eating 1000
calories a day, which is superlow.
You do not have enough caloricrunway to lose any significant
(16:05):
amount of weight from there.
We just, you can't cut fromthat.
You've got to be eating enough,um, to cut from, um, and not be
miserable or even, you know,dangerous to your health.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, how about this?
Can't I just sip on some lemonwater and fast, even, even if
I'm, you know, not in thatcalorie spot you mentioned and
(16:26):
get a flatter tummy that way?
No, certainly not.
Um, it's not going to doanything for your metabolism.
It's not going to help withweight loss.
You really cannot ignore thispiece.
You have to do the work ofinvesting in your metabolism.
And if you want to drink lemonwater, the, along this whole
journey, Go for it.
Um, but it's not, you know, it'snot some magic thing.
(16:47):
There, there is no magic thingor I would be doing it and I
would be telling all of myclients to do it.
So there's no magical propertiesto sipping on lemon water or
fasting for my metabolism.
No.
Not at all.
Okay.
Okay.
So what is the path to a trimmerwaistline or a flat tummy after
a person has spent some timeinvesting in their metabolism?
(17:11):
Well, let's just assume they'vegot their calories in a healthy
spot.
Um, once you're there, how doyou do it?
300 sit ups a day?
So like I touched on in thebeginning, you, you can do some
ab work, but you need so muchless than you probably think if
you want to get good abs.
So obviously you need to justreduce your body fat, um, by
moderately reducing yourcalories, lifting weights,
(17:34):
getting in general movement fromthings like walking, um, And
that's going to do more work foryou than doing 300 sit ups a
day.
Abs are revealed in the kitchen.
Um, so it's going to be allabout a very well calibrated
diet.
Um, and then you need to belifting all of your body parts.
And maybe that sounds weird,like what do, you know, what
(17:56):
does building my legs and glutesand back and shoulders have to
do with my abs?
First of all, all of these WhatI call the big lifts, things
like squatting, shoulderpressing, um, all of these
things, pull ups, push ups,they're all going to engage your
abs so much more than you think.
Um, you know, if you've got weakabs, try to do a push up.
You're just not going to be ableto.
(18:17):
So all of these moves areengaging your core, even if
you're not, you know, thinkingthat, hey, this is an ab move
that I'm doing.
You are getting a lot ofengagement in so many different
exercises, um, with your core.
So that's, that's why I thinkyou, you just don't need to do
as much direct ab work as youthink, and building up all of
these body parts, it's going tohelp you get leaner.
(18:40):
Um, and it's also going to giveyou, I think the shape that most
people want without maybeknowing how to get it.
So most of us want sort of thathourglass look and getting that
flat stomach is about more thanjust It's, you know, eating less
and getting skinny.
It's about building out bodyparts like your shoulders and
your lats and your glutes tohelp give you that curvy look.
Building out those body parts isgoing to make your waist look
(19:02):
smaller and leaner.
Um, so that's what I would say.
Just a general lifting programthat targets all of the major
body parts, movement, and a wellcalibrated body.
caloric deficit achieved throughnutrition.
Okay.
All right.
Well, what if I don't actuallyreally care about a flat tummy?
I don't have any desire to weara bikini this summer and I've
(19:24):
sort of made peace with themuffin top.
Um, should I care about this asa flat stomach just for show?
I think that's a good point.
And I think, you know what, ifyou don't care about looking
great in a bikini, that isawesome.
No problem.
Um, however, I would say fatcollection throughout your torso
is actually a lot more dangerousthan fat that may deposit in
(19:45):
your hips, legs, glutes, thosesorts of areas.
Um, a lot of the fat that may bein your stomach is what we call
visceral fat.
And that's the fat that collectsaround your organs.
That is why the waistmeasurement is something that
insurance companies even careabout.
Because the size of your waistis directly correlated to your
overall health.
So you can be at a healthyweight, but if you've got a
(20:07):
large waistline, that still canbe actually pretty dangerous.
Um, you know, that this visceralfat is very different than just
the, the subcutaneous fat, whichis the fat that's just right
under your skin that you cankind of pinch.
Um, like right now, if I pinchmy tricep, I can pinch some fat.
Um, that.
you know, maybe I don't lovethat fat, but it's not
dangerous, but the kind that youcan't really pinch around your
(20:29):
midsection, um, that's thevisceral or that dangerous type
of fat.
So this type of fat is going toraise your risk for lots of.
Pretty serious conditions, heartdisease, Alzheimer's, type 2
diabetes, stroke, highcholesterol.
Um, a lot of these conditionsare strongly linked to having
too much fat around yourmidsection.
(20:51):
Um, this can also make yourblood pressure go up, it can
cause inflammation, um, lots andlots of problems.
So I think it goes well beyondjust wanting to look good in a
bikini.
Okay.
Yeah.
And, um, I think what we, Ithink these two like good body
composition and reducingvisceral fat go hand in hand.
There are very few people whohave a lean body composition
(21:16):
that is, are worried about theirexpanding waistline.
So it really is about addingmuscle to your body, decreasing
body fat overall, just as ahealth proposition.
It also makes you look great.
Okay.
Um, so you've convinced me, itsounds like getting lean, um,
especially through my torso isgood for my health.
(21:36):
How do I tell if I'm actuallyimproving my body composition?
You kind of mentioned earlierthat you can be a healthy
weight, but be obese.
Um, you, or conversely, um,funnily enough, I just had my
BMI done, right.
I did some tests and it spit outmy BMI.
And according to my BMI, I amobese.
Um, now I know I have, I have avery lean body composition, but,
(21:58):
um, how do I know there's somuch confusing information out
there, what should I be payingattention to?
Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, I would say you canditch scale, um, you know,
certainly being a hundred poundsover what, what would consider
be considered an ideal body.
Weight probably isn't healthyunless you're some crazy male.
(22:18):
bodybuilder on steroids, butthat's not our, you know, that's
not who we're talking to here.
Um, so I would say look at yourwaist measurement.
That's a really, really easything you can do maybe once a
week.
Um, just, and don't worry aboutbeing perfect with that.
Just do it in the same placeevery week.
If you just want to take itright around your belly button,
that's perfectly fine.
Um, so monitor that if that isgoing down, you are most likely
(22:42):
losing body fat.
The other thing you can do, um,is get some sort of a body scan.
There's different, differentways you can do this.
A lot of gyms or supplementstores actually have free body
scans where you step on thescale and you hold these handles
and it will give you an idea ofwhat your body fat percentage
is.
I would say maybe it's not ahundred percent accurate, but
you can at least see trends.
(23:03):
You can see if it's going up ordown.
Um, and then if you really wantto get something accurate, you
can do something like the bodpod that I talked about doing
myself several years ago, or aDEXA scan or something like
that.
That's how you can tell if youare progressing and losing
actual body fat, which is whatwe actually want to be losing.
(23:24):
Okay, that sounds good.
Um, yeah, and I know that a lotof like, um, some of these
things you can get like Grouponcoupons for and get a good deal
on those.
So yeah, yeah, I've never done aDEXA.
I've only done the BOD pod andit was actually really cool.
It just, it just takes a littlemore time.
You've got to drive somewhereand you know, it's a little more
invasive to your time, but ifyou want something really
(23:46):
accurate, it is kind of cool tosee that data.
Okay.
So Joe, I'm going to ask you aquestion.
Now you have coached a lot ofladies and you've competed
yourself.
And I know you've got, you'vegotten yourself some really
great abs.
Um, what is your best advice asa life coach for banishing the
muffin top?
And you can give us some verytough love here if you need to.
(24:07):
Okay.
I have two words, reasonableexpectations.
Number one, listen to us.
When we say that this all startswith a healthy metabolism, it is
going to be very, very difficultto lose weight and lose body
fat.
If your metabolism has sloweddown significantly and is
limping along.
Um, the good news is that Ithink you mentioned this
(24:27):
earlier.
You will likely lean out whileyou are investing in their
metabolism.
I've seen clients who havespent.
Upwards of a year working ongetting their metabolisms back
to a healthy spot.
And even if they haven't lost alot of weight by the scale, um,
by their pictures, you can see anoticeable decrease in the
amount of fat sitting in theirtorsos.
(24:47):
So, you know, don't, don't thinkall is lost if you've got to
spend some time.
Getting your metabolism back toa healthy spot.
You, you can make improvementsin both areas, but if you don't
take the time to do this, youwill just prolong the process,
spin your wheels and probably bevery, very frustrated in the
process.
So just heed that warning.
(25:07):
Number two is cut the booze.
The wine belly is a thing.
And I don't know if you havenoticed this, but I, you know,
drinking a lot of alcoholdefinitely Contributes to the
muffin top.
So to the point that I can tellfrom pics from pictures now,
like starting pictures, if aclient is drinking on a regular
(25:28):
basis, there's just a bunch ofbloat and like a bigger belly.
That's that's a wine belly.
And that's the best way I candescribe it.
I don't know if you can see thatin the pictures, but if you want
to cut out and lean or lean outthrough your torso, consider
cutting out or.
cutting back on the booze.
Um, that's in addition to allthe things that you mentioned,
the calorie deficit and liftingweights, you know, it doesn't
(25:50):
make any sense to be whiningabout why, you know, you just,
your stomach is still so chubby.
If you're drinking six, sevenglasses of wine a week, that
those two things are notcongruent with each other.
Um, third, um, You know, I thinka six pack is not something to
obsess about until you've gotsome healthy nutrition and
exercise habits in place.
(26:11):
Um, when you are, you know, justnot paying attention to your
nutrition, can't make it to thegym, sitting around whining
that, you know, your abs aren'tshowing is what I call fantasy
world.
Um, there's just no sense inexpending a bunch of energy.
Whining about this if, you know,every evening you're scavenging
around for food, like eatingstale pizza for dinner, because
(26:33):
it's the only food you have inyour house.
Um, and you're not moving yourbody on a regular basis and
drinking a bunch during theweek.
Um, to expect to have, you know,a slim trim waistline when
you're engaging in those habitsis, you know, Total and complete
fantasy.
So, um, certainly don't gocomplaining to your coach that
you need more ab exercises toget rid of your muffin top.
(26:55):
If you're doing those things,um, I think really, and, and
honestly, I mean, you and I canboth speak to this.
That's not typically what wesee.
Um, what we get more is womenwho it's very, uh, I really
empathize with them.
It's a very.
Frustrating place to be there.
30, 40 pounds overweight andvery concerned about their
(27:15):
growing midsection, but they'reeating like 12 or 1300 calories
a day.
And it's like, well, no, I needto get rid of, you know, my
waistline is huge.
I'm paying more in insurancebecause I'm deemed unhealthy.
You've got to get this weightoff of me.
And, um, I mean, the reality is,is that that's probably, yeah,
we can start making inroads,but, but they're, they've really
(27:36):
kind of put their body in fatstorage mode and it's going to
take some time to get it out ofthat and get that waistline
down.
I think the bottom line is thatamazing abs are just a sign of
really good self care habits.
So that's fine.
That's my advice.
What do you think about that?
I would agree.
I would agree with all of that.
Um, okay.
Have you seen the wine bellybefore?
(27:58):
Do you know what I'm talkingabout?
Probably not as, um, I don't seethe details maybe like that as
much as you do.
I'll have to put them in now.
I'm going to start looking.
Yeah.
Okay, so we're going to wrapthis up by putting on our
physique coach hats now, andwe're going to provide our best
do's and don'ts for banishingthe muffin top and building a
(28:19):
body that you love, and you canat any age.
So, Joe, why don't you go first?
Okay.
So I would say like we'vetouched on, get, do get rid of
the muffin top by putting yourmetabolism first.
Um, you will like the results somuch better.
You're going to get resultsnumber one, and then you will
like the way that you look somuch better.
Number, what I would say don'tdo is some sort of crash diet,
(28:43):
three weeks to a bikini bodydetox.
That's not going to do anythingis that that is a complete waste
of your time and money and isgoing to set you back further
from getting rid of that muffintop.
Thanks.
Bye.
Bye.
What'd you say?
I didn't.
It's going to be miserable.
Yeah.
Okay.
So my do is focus first onimproving your overall body
(29:04):
composition, that body fatpercentage number and do not
obsess about the scale.
You can be losing weight andactually increasing body fat.
You can also be gaining weightand decreasing body fat, um,
and, and the inches around yourwaist.
So, um, really focused on that,that body fat percentage.
Over the scale when you'regetting started, my next, um, do
(29:27):
is do make strength training forlarge body parts of priority and
maybe include an app exercise atthe end of each of those
workouts.
So, you know, once you've donemaybe a workout that has like,
you know, squats, deadlifts,shoulder, presses, chest,
presses, um, maybe some rows.
Yeah, sure.
Include, you know, a set ofplanks or reverse crunches or
(29:48):
some sort of ab exercise at theend of that workout, but don't
do hours and hours of abworkouts, you know, 300 sit ups
every night for Pilates classesa week, expecting, you know, a
full day.
Great abs.
Now I'm not hating on Pilates.
I think Pilates is great formobility and core strength.
Um, but having great corestrength doesn't necessarily
(30:11):
translate into visible abs.
It's a great thing to have, butit, that it's not the same
thing.
And if your nutrition isn't onpoint and you don't have much
lean muscle mass doing a bunchof Pilates or 300 sit ups a
night, it's not going to leanyou out.
Yeah.
And remember that abs are justanother muscle.
There's no reason to work themany more than any other muscle.
Um, think about, let's just useshoulders.
(30:33):
For example, if you're doingmore at spending more time on
your abs than you are yourshoulders, then you're probably
doing things a bit wrong and youmight need to just, you know,
back a little bit off the absand focus more on some of the
other body parts.
Okay.
So my do is make sure nutritionis on point.
Um, and don't fall for thingslike Fat burners and other
(30:54):
gimmicks.
Remember that abs are made inthe kitchen.
Um, there's no shortcut that'sgoing to get you these great
apps.
Okay.
My next do is, is along the samelines.
Do make sure you're eatingenough and giving your body the
nutrition it needs to dosomething with all the working
out you're doing.
I would say do not fast.
I think fasting is stressful onyour body.
(31:15):
It's going to probably increasecortisol production.
That's actually going to workagainst decreasing your Your
muffin top because cortisoltends to cause fat to collect
around your body over time.
Now, I've heard a lot of peoplewho fasted, fasted, tell me, oh,
my flat belly is gone.
And I've looked at theirmeasurements when they were
(31:36):
fasting and when they're eatingand the belly measurements have
often gone down.
I think what, um, if you've donea lot of fasting, it does feel
strange to have more water andundigested food sitting in your
stomach.
That's not the same thing as amuffin top.
So fasting doesn't, you may feellike it's giving you a flatter
stomach, but the measurementswould tell otherwise, um, and
(31:59):
probably is just going toexacerbate getting, you know,
the results that you want.
Yeah, don't mistake foractually, you know, actually
just feeling full and satiatedfor, you know, feeling like, um,
for, for actually gaining bodyfat.
I think when you fast, you mightget really used to that empty
stomach feeling.
And when you stop doing it, thatmight just be a different
(32:20):
feeling for you, but, um, justsomething you have to get used
to again.
Okay, so my next do is to reallyreduce alcohol consumption if
you are drinking a lot.
Um, we like to say in generalless than four drinks a week.
I personally drink almost neverbecause it makes me sleep
terribly.
Even if I have one drink and ifI have two, I am going to be
(32:42):
very tired the next day and ISimply don't have time in my
life with, you know, a full timejob, this business, three kids,
my own working out to be tiredeven for one single day.
So I've pretty much just said,um, I will stick to sparkling
water with lime and I'mperfectly okay with that.
Um, so, you know, cut back onyour alcohol, but my don't that
(33:04):
goes along with that is don'tfeel like you have to cut out
carbs.
Carbs are good for you for somany reasons.
We should do a whole podcast oncarbs.
That's my next one.
Yeah.
Okay.
My next one is do focus onbuilding a symmetrical physique,
meaning like what you talkedabout earlier, like creating
that hourglass shape, um,creating the illusion of a
smaller waist by building outyour glutes and your shoulders.
(33:27):
Don't obsess about having a sixpack.
A lot of that is genetic.
It's kind of how your abs arestructured.
Um, I do get a six pack, buthonestly it can look very
blocky.
Um, so like.
That's honestly in, um, likecompetitions where they're not
even going for a six packbecause it can make you kind of
(33:48):
look thicker through the waist.
If you have a lot of abdefinition, um, or thick abs
through the waist.
So six pack is fun.
It's nice.
I wouldn't even make it a goal.
I, again, I would, I wouldpersonally just focus on a very
healthy body composition.
And if you are geneticallygifted or genetically have the
ability to have a six pack,it'll show up if you get lean
(34:09):
enough.
Yeah.
Okay.
My last one, it's very specific.
Don't do those weighted obliqueside bends where you were.
I've used to see people at thegym doing this.
When I would go to the gym whereyou're standing there, holding a
weight to one side and then kindof leading over, working on
those side ab muscles or yourobliques, that is going to give
(34:30):
you a thicker waist and go kindof against that hour glass look.
So, um, don't do those.
That's not the look that I thinkany, Um, and I'm going to talk
about, um, what the rest of usare probably going for.
So.
Yeah.
I used to do those all the timebefore I had any idea what I was
doing.
Because it would make me sore.
So I thought I was gettingreally.
Yeah.
I would have, I would up theweight and yeah.
(34:51):
It wasn't helping my physique atall.
So.
That's okay.
I'm sure I did too.
And.
You know, it's fine.
Now, you know, so if you weredoing those, just stop.
Okay.
So let's talk a little bitabout.
Where we're at in our own, um, Iguess fitness journeys and our
(35:11):
own physique goal, short term,um, physique goals.
Do you want to go first?
You want me to go first?
Um, you can go first.
Okay.
So I am at the very tail end of,I won't call it like a reverse.
I've just been eating at ahealthy maintenance of about 2,
100 calories since.
I don't know, June maybe of lastyear.
(35:33):
Um, so, you know, about ninemonths.
Um, it's great.
I can fit so many fun things inthere, but I will admit I feel a
little bit fluffy right now.
My weight is, I'm, I'm, youknow, my weight is fine.
Um, I just feel a little bitfluffy.
And so I'm going to start asmall cut.
here very soon.
Um, nothing drastic and I'lltalk more about the details of
(35:56):
that maybe on the next podcast.
Um, but I've been having to tellmyself for the last couple of
months, Hey, just because youwere feeling fluffy, you were
not feeling lean.
This is still not the time tostart dieting.
If we all started dieting, everytime we felt fluffy, we would be
dieting off and on all the time.
Um, so I've just had to, youknow, fight the urge to say, Oh,
I would like to lose just acouple pounds right now.
(36:18):
Um, and I've just kept mycalories high and I know that
the time will come to do my cut.
And once I'm in it, I will wishI wasn't in it.
Um, so that's kind of where I'mat right now.
I'm going to do probably aneight to 12 week cut just for
summertime.
Um, my goal isn't to lose thatmuch, maybe five to eight pounds
(36:40):
and just tighten up a littlebit.
Um, and I know we kind of, weoften end the show with some of
the, our favorite foods thatwe're fitting into our macros at
the time.
I've got so many favorites thatI'm fitting in still.
Um, but we thought it would befun to maybe talk about things
that for us, we don't want tohave in the house when we're
doing our cut.
So it's hard for me to keepfoods out of the house.
(37:02):
I have Three kids and we do eatregular dessert in our house.
Um, so it's not as easy for meto just say, Oh, I'm just not
going to have this in the house,but I have found for me,
anything with fake sugar makesme just want to keep eating
more.
Um, and I've.
I've heard different theories onthis that it's, it's a different
type of sweet.
(37:22):
And so when you get a little bitof taste of that fake sweet, it
almost makes you just want toeat more and more and more
because your body is actuallycraving real, like, real sugar,
something that's sweetened, um,in a more natural way, as
opposed to, you know, different,um, fake sugars.
So for me, keeping things like,I know there's some protein
peanut butters that a lot of,our clients and followers really
(37:45):
like.
For me, those things are justdangerous.
I don't want to have just atablespoon of those.
I want to have like half of thecontainer.
So, um, keeping those type ofthings out is probably key for
me.
But I do have to just learn todeal with having all kinds of
chocolate and candy in my house.
And yes, I might want to havesome of that when I'm doing my
(38:06):
cut.
But, um, I'm just going to haveto, to fight those urges.
Cause there's no keeping thatout of the house for me.
So what about you?
Where are you at?
And what foods do you try tokeep out of your house when
you're cutting?
Yeah.
So because of this trip, I am,I'm doing like what I'm calling
like a pre cut.
Cause, um, we are both kind ofcutting for the same event in
(38:27):
June.
Um, some pictures that we'regoing to have taken.
So, um, that's, You know, that'sa good motivation for me to, um,
do a cut, but like you, I, I'mkind of fluffy.
Um, I haven't, you know, been ina calorie deficit.
Well, I tried to do like alittle mini cut in August.
It did not work for a variety ofreasons, but you know, my
(38:48):
calories have been high.
Um, so to prepare, and I, thismay just be like, you know, not
wanting to do the work just yet,but I'm doing what I'm calling a
pre cut where I am actuallybeing very good about tracking
All of my macros.
So I know what my maintenancecalories are, um, and really
paying attention to just all thebites, looks and tastes or
(39:10):
grabbing this or that.
Um, and, and for me, you know,where I, after all these years,
you know, where I really causeproblems for myself is I can't
have things like licorice, gummybears, cinnamon bears in my
house.
I cannot eat just one.
I just will eat and eat and eaton those.
It's like, it's like.
(39:30):
Especially licorice.
I don't know something about thetexture or the chew.
So I don't have those in myhouse.
I mean, I've known that and thenthings like crumble cookie, um,
which my daughter loves.
Good.
I just can't eat that if theyare around, I will eat them.
So I just haven't learned tomake peace with that, um, for
(39:50):
myself.
And, um, You know, if we'regoing to do crumble cookie, we
just don't get like a six or,you know, they're very expensive
to bring them.
You don't bring that many home.
Um, I don't do like a lot ofbaking of like pans of brownies
and stuff, because I will wantto go and eat one every time I'm
in the kitchen.
So I just know that aboutmyself, but things like I can do
(40:11):
like the, the fun nut buttersand, you know, I'm measuring
them out.
Usually, I would just not bevery diligent about that.
So I'm doing a little, you know,just kind of getting myself
ready for the cut.
Um, as I have lost a little bitof weight doing that, but, um,
but yeah, um, and intentionallynot bringing stuff home,
especially after the holidaysthat are like sugar cookies.
(40:33):
candy, that kind of stuff that Iknow will just call to me in the
kitchen.
So, um, um, but I, I think, youknow, we all have our, I call
it, we all have our ownkryptonite.
You can spend a bunch of timetrying to desensitize yourself
to it.
And for me, it's honestly, It'snot worth it.
Just, I just don't have itaround and then I can't eat it.
(40:55):
So that's the easy way to do it.
And here's one thing I tellmyself.
Anytime I do a cut, I tellmyself I'm only doing this for
two or three months in two orthree months.
I can, I will have, my macroswill be high again and I can fit
it all in.
And that makes it feel much,much more doable.
It's not like I'm tellingmyself, Oh, you're going to try
to never eat.
(41:15):
Cadbury eggs again.
I say that because it's one ofmy favorite things right now.
And I just bought two more bigpackages of them today because I
love them, but I'll, I will trynot to eat many of them during
my cut, just because they don'tfill me up.
Um, and even if I can fit theminto my macros, they're going to
leave me hungrier than if I putsomething just more natural and
filling in there instead.
(41:36):
Um, but I'll tell myself, Hey,in three months you will have
room for this Cadbury egg again.
So you're not giving it upforever.
And that mentally helps mebecause I don't feel like I'm
giving it up for, for that long.
And I tell myself I can doanything for eight to 12 weeks.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think that's a goodstrategy.
Um, that does not work for mewith cinnamon bears and crumble
cookie.
(41:57):
So I know that about myself.
Yeah.
Knowing yourself is actually abig part of a successful cut.
Cause I've had successful andunsuccessful ones where I
haven't been able to stick withit.
And now I kind of know, causeI've done this many times.
I kind of know What, you know,how, how the best way to do it
for me is just like, you know,the best way to do it meant, you
know, mentally for you to helpyou stick with it.
(42:18):
So, um, that's helpful too.
Yeah.
So, okay.
All right.
Well, hopefully you have a greatidea now of what To do and not
to do if you want to get, um,rid of the muffin top for good,
uh, we can certainly help you,especially if you have a sense
that maybe your metabolism hasslowed down a bit or has
(42:40):
downregulated a bit, uh, book aconsult call with us.
If you want to talk about thatmore or definitely sign up for
our April one on one program, wewill tell you exactly what to
do.
Um, and what we think is goingon and what you are going to
need to do to, uh, improve thatbody composition.
So, um, links are in the shownotes and other than that, have
(43:02):
a great day and week and we'lltalk to you next time.
Bye.
Hi everyone.
That's what we've got for youtoday about how you can invest
in your metabolism and startlosing weight by eating more and
exercising less.
Trust us.
You aren't too old and it'snever too late.
If you want to learn more aboutthis topic, head over to our
Facebook group, Boost YourMetabolism After Age 30.
(43:25):
You can also follow us onInstagram or Facebook at Couture
Fitness Coaching.
And if you want to work with us,join us for our next 12 week
session.
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